Conservative thinking and religion in Turkey: The case of Hareket journal (1939-1953)

Conservatism, which emerged as a way of defending tradition and the old system with the modernization of Turkey, is seen as a current issue in many ideologies and structures. Using conservatism both in its context in the West and not in a holistic approach in its context in Turkey makes it difficult to evaluate all aspects of the issue. However, it is equally difficult to process conservatism chronologically. In this sense, considering the main themes of conservatism, it is important to examine its socio-political origins and the roles it has transformed in our country. In this sense, by using understanding and expalanation methods, conservatism is discussed with the basic ideologies, in which the adventure of its emergence in the West and the sociological and historical context of the turning points in its adventure in Turkey in the early Republican period are articulated. The fact that conservatism can be pulled in the desired direction in socio-political debates on account of its flexible structure also shows that it is used pragmatically. All forms of conservatism, as well as classical conservatism, are related to religion. In this thesis, conservatism is discussed with the descriptive analysis method in the Movement Journal, pioneered by Nurettin Topçu, who is known as a conservative nationalist. The 47 issues of the journal, published between 1939-1953, were examined within the framework of the main themes of conservatism and religion, religious tradition and the social reflections of religion. It is obvious that other forms of conservatism as well as classical conservatism are related to religion. In addition, it is possible to say that the journal has inevitably assumed a nationalist-conservative identity. Accordingly, it can be stated that the historical adventure of conservatism, its reflections in the early Republican period in Türkiye, and the examination of its relationship with religion in the focus of the Movement Journal reveal the originality of the thesis.